Daughter of Starlight
by CrimsonAdri
Summary: Clara Kingsley and her adoptive sister, Melinda, get a call from a man telling them that Clara's grandmother, whom they'd never met, mysteriously died and had left Clara her something in the will so the two travel to her estate in England. One night, the gem on the locket Clara's had since she was a baby, glows and a strange voice lures her into the woods away from her world.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own LotRs, it's characters, plot, etc. My friend owns his OC Melinda but I own my OC Clara. I also own anything added that you don't recognize.**

 **NOTE: This was originally a co-written work with my friend but he didn't want to work on it anymore and I can't write his OC that well so I changed it to just being about Clara getting sent to Middle Earth since I had pretty much the entire first movie written out for her.**

 **Summary: Clara Kingsley and her adoptive sister, Melinda, get a call from a man telling them that Clara's grandmother, whom they'd never met, mysteriously died and had left Clara her entire estate in Holmes Chapel, England. One night, the locket Clara's had since she was a baby starts to glow and a strange voice lures her into the woods away from her world and down a lonely road.**

 **Clara's the adopted one just fyi. That's why I wrote "** **adop** **tive** **sister, Melinda" and not "adop** **ted** **sister, Melinda". The parts with Melinda were already written by my friend.**

 **Side note: I imagine Clara looking and sounding like Clara from Doctor Who, Jenna Coleman but with green eyes.**

* * *

"Seriously, I hate planes," Melinda complained as she moved a lock of golden hair from her face.

"Well, it's not like we can drive there." Clara said matter-of-factly as they walked through the terminal. "You didn't have to come with me." she added.

"Are you kidding? Your long lost grandmother dies and leaves you everything and you think I'm not going to come with you?"

"You do realize how greedy that sounds, right?" Clara asked. "And she didn't leave me everything, we don't even know what she left me. That's why we're going to a will reading."

"Oh hush." Melinda said waving a hand. "I'm just saying that after abandoning you at a hospital by this family, they owe you and I'm just coming to make sure you get what you're owed."

"It's not like _she_ abandoned me." Clara said with a frown as they got in line to board the plane.

"Who do you think told your birth mom to get rid of you?" Melinda asked as she put her four bags down. She took her little silver clutch from under her arm before putting her hands on her hips.

"We don't know the whole story." Clara said as she stopped, set her roller bag upright and turned to the older girl.

"My feet are killing me." Melinda said, ignoring Clara's statement.

"I wonder why." Clara muttered looking down at the metallic silver heels before looking down at her own black converse. Clara was used to her sister's whining by now but it didn't annoy her any less. "Shut up and deal with it, Mel."

"Bitch." Melinda huffed under her breath.

"Jerk." Clara said, having heard her anyways. "Again, you didn't have to come." Clara said as she crossed her arms.

"Again, I have to make sure-"

"You just want to come because one: it's England and two: you think my grandma was rich because her butler called us." Clara said. "I know you by now, Mel, I've lived with you for 22 years." She said. Melinda huffed.

"If your family wasn't rich why were you left with that?" Melinda asked as she pointed to Clara's locket. Clara reached up to touch it. "I mean my parents could've sold that to pay for college for both of us." Melinda said. "Sorry, our parents." She corrected quickly.

"It doesn't cost that much." Clara said as she held it.

"There's a huge fucking diamond in it." Melinda hissed as she pointed at it again. Clara looked down at it with a frown. It was a heart shaped locket with a close to heart shaped white gem on the front. On the back, her name was engraved and she'd never been able to open it. Clara put it in her shirt as Melinda sighed. "Look, you don't even know if this woman really was your grandmother. This could just be some guy trying to rob you."

"I highly doubt some guy would call us and pretend to be my grandma's butler, tell us she died and left me something just so we would fly across the world to meet with him so he could take my locket." Clara said as the line began to move.

"Let's just get on the stupid plane." Melinda said with another huff before picking up her bags again and walking ahead. As she walked her hips swayed elegantly in her black, form fitting pencil skirt. She had on a white flowing top that was tucked into the skirt, held together by a black and gold belt. Her golden hair was down and came to about the top of her buttocks and flowed behind her. Clara shook her head and walked after her.

…

The two got settled in their seats on the plane, Clara by the window and Melinda in the middle seat. Melinda sighed over-dramatically and sat back in her seat as she smoothed out her skirt. Clara pulled her IPod out of her jeans and put in her ear buds before pulling her green hood up and crossing her arms. A woman sat in the seat next to Melinda, who gave the woman a once over before making a face and moving closer to Clara.

They had gotten a call about a week earlier from an unknown number. Usually they wouldn't have answered but something drew Clara to the phone. The call was from Clara's Grandmother's butler, Ramsey, in England. He told them that the woman had unfortunately fallen down a flight of stairs and had sadly died. Clara had never received contact from anyone from her blood-family. When she was left at a hospital as a baby she had no identification besides her name on her locket.

As she listened to her music and stared out at the clouds Clara began to wonder. Maybe her birth mother had been the one to want to get rid of her but her grandmother had kept an eye on her. But if her grandmother was keeping tabs on her and knew where she was, why didn't she contact her sooner and why have her in the will if she hadn't even met her?

 **Short, I know, next chapter is longer.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own LotRs, it's characters, plot, etc. My friend owns his OC Melinda but I own my OC Clara. I also own anything added that you don't recognize.**

 **I'm changing** ** _a lot_** **from what me and my friend originally had since it's just me writing this now.**

 **The actual lord of the rings part starts chapter 3 (kinda end of chap 2) in case anyone was wondering. Also telling you now Melinda doesn't get sent to Middle Earth, Since that's my friend's OC I'm not comfortable writing her for that long (plus he had a different idea when he did want to write it)**

* * *

Melinda stared with wide eyes out the window as they approached the estate.

"I don't know why you're surprised." Clara muttered. "They picked us up in a limo." The black limo pulled up to a massive, over-exaggerated gate. Melinda raised her eyebrows and smirked as the gates opened.

"Well, this is interesting." She snickered as they pulled into the driveway which was made of white pebbles. On each side of the driveway, evenly placed trees. The driveway way was rather long and at the end of it was a large marble fountain. Then, there it was, the 'little house' that Melinda had pictured. To put it simply it was a castle, a renaissance chateau.

There were over 50 windows on the front of the building alone. There were many towers and the main part of the castle had three floors with an extra floor for each tower. It was white with grey roofing and gold trim. An even blanket of snow covered the lawn and the hedges were neatly trimmed dispite being half covered in snow. Melinda let out a scream and ran out of the parked limo.

"Sweet Mary, mother of- … this is so….ahhhhh!" She screamed running into the castle. Her metallic silver heels clicked on the marble tile that led into the building. She opened one of the two overly sized, elaborate doors to go in. She stopped running and walked into the foyer. "Sweet Mary…"

"Excuse me." A voice called from a nearby door. Melinda turned to that direction to see a beautiful man. He was tall, tan and had the perfect amount of stubble.

"Huh..." She gave him a once-over. He was wiping a decorative dish off with a towel and carefully set it down on a nearby end table that was against the wall and walked over to her, wiping his hands on his trousers.

"I'm Hunter, and um welcome." He said with a half smile holding out his hand. She walked elegantly to him and shook his hand. "Would you like a tour, Miss Clara?"

"Oh, I'm not Clara. My name's Melinda." She said with a smile.

"Ah, yes, Ramsey mentioned she had an adoptive sister." Hunter said with a slight frown. "We didn't know you would be joining Miss Clara."

"Well, I am." She said. "So, about that tour?"

"Ah, well…" Hunter glanced outside. "I'm supposed to give Miss Clara the tour." Melinda frowned.

"She can find her own way around." She said waving a hand. "She likes to explore."

"I'm sorry, I have my orders." Hunter said with an apologetic smile. Melinda mentally frowned then had an idea.

"Look, uh to be honest, Clara gets really nervous around _attractive men_." Melinda said, smiling as Hunter started to grin slightly. "And new places make her a bit jumpy. I think it's best she explore at her own pace." She said. "Trust me, I know my sister." She said putting her hand on her chest with a sweet smile.

"Well, if you say so then."

"So you can give me a tour and later _I_ can show her anything she missed."

"Alright." Hunter said with a smile. Melinda took his arm and smiled up at him.

"Lead the way." She said.

 **...**

Clara climbed out of the limo, much quieter than her sister. As she did she pulled down the dark green hood of her jacket, letting her light brown hair flow down her back. She stared at the tremendous castle before her; her eyebrows were as high as they could go and her jaw hung open slightly.

"Damn." She breathed. The driver got out of the car and went to get the girl's bags out of the back. Clara blinked before running in after her sister. Her sneakers squeaked as she came to a sudden stop inside. The sound echoed off the walls of the large foyer. She looked around and realized her sister was nowhere in sight. "Mel?" She called. "Goddamn it Mel…" She said with a sigh. Clara looked around before walking up one of the large stairs on the sides of the room.

* * *

"How long have you been a servant here, Henry?" Melinda asked, deliberately getting his name wrong, as the two walked at a slow pace.

"Uh it's Hunter and since I was young. Also, I prefer the term butler." He said trying not laugh. They both walked slowly down a hallway which had white tiled flooring and pale-yellow coloured walls. Melinda's arm was still around his as her other hand held her clutch. The only sound was their talking and her heels.

"And how many people work here, to be exact?" Melinda asked, out of genuine curiosity.

"About 30."

"About isn't very exact." Melinda chuckled.

"Miss Clara's grandmother, as you've probably guessed, was a very wealthy woman." Hunter said.

"Oh, I can only imagine." Melinda said with a slight laugh.

"She always hired a lot of people to help them. If they were on the streets she offered them a place in the staff quarters." Hunter explained. Melinda nodded.

"Do you know anything about the family? Why they abandoned Clara?"

"Ah… well… um…" Hunter glanced up before he cleared his throat. "I'm not at liberty to say." Melinda frowned and looked up to where he had. Overhead on a balcony, Ramsey, the oldest butler, was looking down at them as they passed. With a huff, he turned around and disappearing into a dark room.

* * *

Clara walked through a long wooden floored hallway. The high pale-yellow coloured walls had many paintings and old fashioned lantern-like lights. The windows, which had silky drapes that matched the walls, filled the hall with light. Clara looked out one of the windows; the landscape was so beautiful and breathtaking, she could see on for miles. She continued walking down another hall before she decided to finally enter one of the rooms. She turned the golden handle and found the door to be unlocked. She slowly peeked her head inside before she entered the room.

"Oh Mel would love this." She said quietly with a small smile. Inside the room were many of those old fashioned mannequins with just the upper half of the body and wire on the bottom to help the dresses keep shape. On them were many elegant gowns and dresses, along with matching shoes on the floor beside them. There was a desk in the corner with an assortment of threads next to a sewing machine and a stack of fabrics on the floor next to the desk.

Clara walked deeper into the room and went up to a black gown. It reached the floor and the sleeves stopped at the elbows but had navy draping sleeves with a bit of black lace at the top. Clara gently touched the sleeves and let the fabric slip from her hand as she heard the door open behind her. She turned around to see Melinda and Hunter in the doorway.

"Oh." Melinda said a bit startled by her sister. "Clara this is Hunter, he's a butler." She said with a serious tone.

"Oh, hello." Clara said walking over with a polite smile. Melinda gave Clara the evil eye - making sure Clara knew that she had called dibs - to which Clara mentally rolled her eyes.

"Miss Clara." Hunter said with a bow that made Melinda frown. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Um, you too?" Clara looked at Melinda who shrugged.

"I see you found the gown room." Hunter said. "Your grandmother made all of these." He said with a smile. Next to him, Melinda's eyes were wide and her mouth was open. She pushed past them both and began to touch all of the gowns. One caught her eye in particular. Clara had a knowing smile on her face. Melinda ran her hands over the soft fabric. The gown was floor-length and was pale lavender and had a darker lavender bottom. Around the waist was a salmon coloured wrap. Hunter turned to Clara.

"Your bags have been taken to your room. Melinda's have been taken to a nearby guest room."

"My room?" Clara asked.

"Yes." Hunter nodded. "Mistress Agatha had a room prepared for you… years ago." He said.

"What?" Clara asked with a frown. Melinda, who was still looking at dresses, also frowned as she started to pay attention to their conversation.

"She wished for you to come live with her when you turned 18 but… she had been very ill the past few years. She was bedridden." He said with a frown. "We thought she was getting better… then…" he looked down at the floor. "My apologies." He said as he composed himself. "She was like a mother to me." he admitted.

"I'm sorry." Clara said. Hunter cleared his throat.

"If you'll excuse me, I must prepare lunch." He said with a bow of his head. "Your room is down the hall, fourth door to the right." He said before quickly leaving the room. Melinda frowned and crossed her arms.

"Didn't tell me where my room is." She said with a frown.

"We'll find it." Clara said. "Come on, let's get you out of this room before you spend the rest of the day trying them all on." Clara said grabbing her sister's hand.

"But they're so pretty." Melinda whined as she reached back for them while her sister dragged her out of the room.

 **…**

Clara helped Melinda find the room she'd be staying in, they searched every room until they found her bags. Melinda squealed and ran to her bedroom; the room was huge. It was a green color and had a white marble fireplace. The floors were a dark cherry wood and had several white carpets spread out. The bed was a queen sized with white bedding and a matching canopy. She walked in slowly, throwing her clutch onto a Victorian styled, claw footed, couch.

"This is going to be fun." She said to herself before turning to grin at her sister.

"Well, I'll see you at lunch. I'm going to unpack." Clara said before she closed Melinda's door and headed back to her room.

…

Clara walked down the hall and entered her room. The room was bigger than Melinda's with a blue and white theme. There was one massive white, round rug in the center of the room over wood flooring. On it was a light blue couch and the bottom half of her king sized bed which had an unnecessary amount of small pillows on it. There were a set of white doors leading out to a large balcony. A similar fireplace to Melinda's on one wall with a few framed pictures and fresh flowers in the middle. There was a door beside the fireplace that lead to an en suite bathroom.

Clara walked up to the fireplace and looked at the pictures; the first was of a baby, her green eyes matched Clara's. The next picture was in black and white and was of her grandmother and her grandfather on a beach at their wedding. The third and last one was of a couple. The woman had long dark hair up in a bun and sparkling green eyes, around her neck was a locket. Clara reached up to touch her own. The man, who was tall and had blond hair and piercing blue eyes, stood behind the woman with his arms around her, his hands over the woman's hand that rested on her large belly. The two were smiling, they looked very happy. Clara walked away from the fireplace to the balcony doors and walked out. A warm breeze blew her hair back and she let out a breath as she closed her eyes. A moment later, Melinda knocked on her door and opened it without waiting for a response.

"Switch rooms with me." Melinda said as Clara walked back inside.

"Hello to you to." Clara muttered. "Why do you want to switch rooms?"

"You have a balcony."

"So?"

"I want a balcony." Melinda said as if it were obvious. Clara rolled her eyes.

"I'm not switching rooms with you. My grandmother had this one made for me."

"So?" Melinda said with a frown as she put her hands on her hips.

"So, she would have wanted me in here. I mean look at this place."

"I know; it's better than mine."

"No, I mean look." Clara slid her finger over the marble of the fireplace. "There's not a speck of dust anywhere. She must have had it cleaned everyday even though no one was ever in here. I mean, there are even fresh flowers in here."

"I don't have flowers in my room." Melinda muttered with a frown. "Fine, keep the room. I'll see you at lunch." She huffed before leaving the room. Clara turned back to the fireplace and looked at the picture of her parents.

…

"Miss Clara." Hunter said as he knocked on her door. She opened it and he bowed his head. "Lunch is ready."

"Hunter, please just call me Clara." She said. Hunter blinked.

"But-"

"Please?"

"As you wish… Clara." He said with a smile. Clara smiled back. "I'll fetch Melinda. If you make your way to the main entrance and go through the right door the dining hall is on your left." Clara nodded.

"Thank you, Hunter." She said. Hunter bowed his head again and turned to leave. "Um." He stopped and turned back to her.

"Yes?"

"I don't mean to sound rude or…" she let out a sigh. "or greedy but when is the reading of the will?"

"Ah, tomorrow after breakfast."

"And, who else will be there?"

"To my knowledge those in attendance will be your Grandmother's son, your uncle Thomas, his ten-year-old son Damien, your second cousin Leah and yourself."

"Only the four of us? What about…?" Clara trailed off. Hunter frowned.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you, your… your birthmother passed away sixteen years ago and her husband…well… we don't know where he is."

"Oh…" Clara looked down at her feet. "But… he's alive?"

"I… I'm sorry; I do not know. The last I saw of him… I was very young and he and your mother left, she was still pregnant with you."

"How old were you?" Clara asked out of curiosity.

"I was seven." He said.

"Do you know why…?"

"I don't." he said, knowing her question. "I'm sorry." Clara nodded. "But, they loved you very much. They wanted to have you."

"Thank you." Clara said in a small voice. "I'll see you at lunch."

"Oh, I won't be joining you, it wouldn't be proper."

"Well, what if I asked you? I'm sure Melinda would want you to join us." Clara said. Hunter chuckled.

"Oh I'm sure she would, and I would love to but I'm afraid I cannot. But thank you, Clara."

"Okay. I'll see you later then." Hunter nodded before turning and going down the hall. Clara subconsciously reached up and touched her necklace; she felt a small jolt go through her fingers and jumped as she looked down at it.

* * *

That night, after dinner, one of the house maids drew Clara a bath – even when she insisted that she could do it herself, the maid insisted that it was her job – and set out a nightgown for her on her bed. The maid had also lit a scented candle after saying that Clara looked tense.

"If you need anything just ring this bell." The maid said as she gestured to a small cord that hung on the wall.

"Thank you very much, Isabel." Clara said with a smile.

"You're very welcome, Miss Clara." Isabel said returning the smile.

"Could you turn off the lights?" Clara asked.

"You want to bathe in the dark? You don't want to fall asleep in the bath, now do you?"

"No, it just find it easier to relax in the dark." Clara said. "And I have my music to keep me awake." She added as she held up her iPod with its mini portable speaker.

"In that case, let me light some more candles for you."

"That's okay, I can do it."

"It's my job, Miss." Isabel said.

"I know… I'm just really not used to this." Clara said. Isabel smiled.

"That's okay, deary, I am. It's not as bad as you think, especially when it's for someone as sweet as you." She said. Clara smiled.

"A bit of a warning if you have to deal with Mel then." Clara said with a sheepish smile.

"Oh don't worry about that. I've dealt with Mister Thomas's son; pretty sure I can handle anything." Isabel said with a small laugh. "Oh do excuse me, I shouldn't speak ill of the boy."

"I've yet to meet either of them." Clara said with a small shrug.

"Well, I hope that boy is nicer to family." Isabel said quietly.

…

As Clara soaked in the tub she let her head rest back against a folded towel and stared up at the ceiling as she listened to her music. She let her eyes close and didn't see her locket's gem start to glow faintly for a brief moment. A second later her eyes snapped open when she heard a loud bang.

"Jeez!" She sat up with a gasp and turned to the window that had blown open and banged against the wall. She was about to get out to close it when she realized her iPod had stopped playing. The candles had blown out and the water was suddenly cold. She knew she hadn't fallen asleep because there was still smoke coming from the wicks. She couldn't figure out how the water had gone from warm and comfortable to cold and numbing in less than a few moments. She stood and grabbed a robe and pulled it on. Isabel had placed it over the back of the chair beside the tub where Clara's iPod sat. Clara went to the window to close and latch it. She happened to glance out to the woods thought she saw something. She did a double take and stared at the woods. When she saw nothing she went to pick up her iPod, it had paused itself. "That's weird." She said with a frown. She hit play and the song continued where it left off, she hit pause again and put it down. She felt the water again and it was ice cold."The hell?" she shook the water off her hand and wiped it on her robe. "Guess I'm not finishing my bath." She looked at the cord on the wall and contemplated calling for Isabel to draw another, but didn't want to bother the woman. She didn't have an explanation for the water turning cold anyways. Clara grabbed a towel and wrapped up her hair before returning to her room to get ready for bed.

* * *

 **So I looked up genetics and such and there is a chance that a blond father and a brown haired mother could have a brown haired child. There's actually 50% chance of Brown hair, 34% Blond and 16% Strawberry Blond. And with the eyes there's 23% chance green and 77% blue even though there's more of a change of blue there's still a chance of green.**

 **I hope you guys are enjoying this so far ^_^ let me know what you think.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own LotRs, it's characters, plot, etc. My friend owns his OC Melinda but I own my OC Clara. I also own anything added that you don't recognize.**

 **The actual lord of the rings part starts next chapter(kinda end of this one) in case anyone was wondering. I'm going to** ** **separately** explain this here. Leah is Clara's second cousin but she's not Thomas' daughter. Clara's mother and Thomas had another brother but he died. I needed there to be another cousin but Leah's too old to be Thomas' daughter.**

 **I have no ideas who will readings work so I hope got some of it right.**

 **Thank you Freedom Hunter for being my first reviewer.**

* * *

The next morning Clara woke to Isabel opening her curtains and the sunlight pouring in.

"Good Morning, Miss Clara." Isabel said. Clara mumbled into her pillow but turned and squinted at the maid.

"What time is it?"

"Seven thirty, Miss." Isabel said with a smile. Clara quickly sat up.

"Don't wake Melinda!" she said with wide eyes. Isabel laughed. "I'm serious; she is _not_ a morning person."

"Duly noted." Isabel said with a nod. "I'm not required to wake her. I'm to wake you for breakfast, the will reading is after. Your cousin has already arrived."

"Oh!" Clara quickly got up and went to her suitcase.

"Oh, I've already set out something for you." Isabel said as she gestured to a dress that was hanging on the door of the bathroom. Clara's eyes widened.

"I-I can't wear that."

"Why not?"

"It's way too…" Clara gestured with her hands. "It's a dress." Isabel chuckled.

"That's the point, Miss." She said. "I'll let you get dressed while I make your bed then I'll help you with your hair."

"My hair?" Clara asked as she blinked and reached up to touch her hair that resembled a rat's nest.

* * *

Clara sat at the small vanity mirror as Isabel stood behind her and brushed her hair.

"You look lovely, Miss." Isabel said. Clara glanced down at the sleeveless light sky blue _V-neck A-line dress with sequins around the high rise waistline and top of the straps with white netting over the skirt._

"I still think it's too much." Clara said.

"When you see Miss Leah, you'll think otherwise."

"When you see Melinda you'll think I'm dressed for casual Friday." Clara said. The two woman laughed as Isabel started on a braid.

…

Clara entered the dining hall and saw a dark haired woman sitting at the table already where there were four other places set. She was in an elegant black and green dress with black lace.

"Um, hello." Clara said. The woman looked up and smiled. "I'm Clara."

"Hello." The woman stood and approached her. "My name's Leah, I'm your cousin, well second cousin." She said as the two shook hands. "Agatha was my great aunt." She explained. "So you're Aunt Christa's daughter."

"You knew my mother?" Clara asked with a small frown.

"She used to baby sit me." Leah said with a nod. Clara blinked.

"Baby sit?"

"Mhm."

"I'm sorry… it's just… you look around my age." Clara said hesitantly.

"Oh, thank you!" Leah said with a big smile. "Truth is I'm almost 31." She whispered. Clara's eyes widened.

"You look amazing."

"Thank you!" Leah took her hand. "Come sit by me." she said as she pulled the younger girl over to the seat beside hers.

…

A few minutes later Hunter opened the door and a man and child walked in.

"Madam Leah, Miss Clara." Hunter said. "Mister Thomas Drake and his son Damien." Hunter said. Clara quickly turned to Leah.

"What name did my mother take?"

"She kept her maiden name, Drake." Leah whispered back.

"Ladies." Thomas said. He was a middle-aged man; his hair was dark brown with a few strands of grey here and there. The two had matching suits, Damien's tie being a clip on of course. The little boy frowned when he noticed Clara.

"Who are you?" he asked as he pointed at her.

" _Damien_." Thomas said in a stern voice. The boy jumped and lowered his hand. "This is your cousin, Clara Drake. She's your Aunt Christa's daughter."

"How come I've never heard about her? Why is she here?" The boy asked with a confused frown. Clara bit her bottom lip.

" _Damien_."

"It was just a question." The boy said.

"It's alright." Clara said with a forced smile. The two took their seats across from the girls. Ramsey entered the room with his hands behind his back.

"Now that everyone has arrived-"

"Um-" he turned to look at Clara. "My… my sister hasn't come down yet."

"Sister?" Thomas asked with a frown.

"Adoptive." Ramsey clarified for him before turning back to Clara. "The maids have attempted to wake Miss Kingsley but it seems she will be sleeping in this morning."

"Oh… okay." Clara said.

"Now, breakfast is served." Ramsey said. Two maids and two butlers came in and placed a plate in front of each person. Hunter placed Clara's down and gave her a polite smile which she returned.

…

After breakfast the group went into another room and sat down, maids brought in tea for everyone, while Ramsey went to the desk at the back of the room and pulled out a small locked box.

"Now, the Last Will and Testament of Agatha Drake. 'To my dearest son Tommy,'" he read. Thomas frowned slightly. "'I leave two quarters of my fortune. Half of which to be put into a separate account for my grandson, Damien.'" Damien's face lit up. "'To my granddaughter,'" Clara swallowed. "'Leah. I leave a quarter of my fortune, my ranch and all of my horses, including those at this estate.'" Leah's face lit up.

"There're horses here?" Everyone turned to see Melinda. Hunter was behind her with an apologetic look.

"She pushed right past me." he said.

"Who are you?" Damien asked. Melinda ignored him and entered the room.

"What does Clara get?" Melinda asked.

" _Mel_." Clara hissed.

"Who's this?" Thomas asked with a deep frown.

"This is my sister." Clara said in a small voice. Ramsey put down the will.

"You are not allowed in here." He said.

"Bullshit." Melinda said putting her hands on her hips.

"I have to ask you to leave the room." Ramsey said.

"Funny." She said as walked over to Clara. "Alright, what's she getting?"

"Mel, you can't be in here." Clara said as her face flushed in embarrassment.

"Says who?"

"There's a list of people allowed to be at the reading." Leah said. "You're not on the list. You legally cannot be in here." Melinda frowned.

"Mel, please just leave." Clara whispered.

"First I not allowed at breakfast now I'm not allowed to be with my sister?"

" _Adoptive_." Ramsey said.

"Who said you weren't allowed at breakfast, you slept in." Clara said as she turned to look up at her.

"No I didn't." Melinda crossed her arms. "I came down for breakfast and they wouldn't let me in the room." Clara frowned and turned to Ramsey.

" _Mr. Grey_." Ramsey said. Hunter nodded and approached Melinda.

"Melinda." He said quietly.

"Fine!" Melinda huffed before leaving. Hunter smiled apologetically at everyone before following after Melinda and closing the door behind him.

"I'm sorry about her…" Clara said.

"Continuing." Ramsey said. "'To my youngest granddaughter,'" Clara sat up straight. "'I leave the last quarter of my fortune and this estate as well as everything in it to do with as she pleases.'" Clara's eyes widened. "'The staff are to remain and work under her if she wishes.'" Everyone turned to look at Clara.

"You're kidding right?" Clara squeaked.

"All we get is money and she gets the house?" Thomas asked with a frown.

"I got the horses." Leah said with a smile.

"Let me remind you, Master Thomas, you and your son received _half_ of the Mistress' money." Ramsey said. Thomas grumbled and shifted in his seat.

"What am I going to do with this place?" Clara asked.

"That is up to you, Miss Clara." Ramsey said.

* * *

"You got this house?" Melinda asked with wide eyes. "That's awesome! I guess you'll have to send for the rest of our things."

"What?" Clara blinked at her with a slight frown.

"Well, we are going to live here, aren't we?" Melinda asked as she put her hands on her hips.

"I don't know."

"Well as your older sister, I say we should move here." Melinda said with a grin.

"This is a whole new country, Mel. We'll have to drive on the other side of the road, there's different currency, and the metric system!"

" _We_ won't have to drive anywhere. Chauffeured limo, remember? We won't have to worry about the currency when we have so much of it and it can't be that hard to learn the metric system."

"If it wasn't hard we would've learned it in school. Also…" Clara shifted on her feet. "it's not your money." Clara said with a half shoulder shrug.

"Looks who's being greedy now." Melinda said with a frown as she crossed her arms.

"I'm just saying…"

"You _are_ going to share with your big sister, _aren't you_?"

"Of course, it's just… I don't want you spending all of it."

"I'm not going to spend _all_ of it." Melinda said as she rolled her eyes.

"Mel, you've maxed out _three_ credit cards in _a week_." Clara said.

"That was a long time ago." Melinda said waving her hand.

"That was _last month_!" Clara said. "You're no good with money, Mel, which is why I figured I'll give you $100 uh 100 euros."

"You're giving me an allowance and only 100?!"

"That's equal to about $140 American." Clara said.

"That's slightly better." Melinda said with a shrug. "So I can't get any money without your permission?"

"Nope. If I was a minor you'd be the one in charge of the money but I'm not, sorry."

"Damn."

"Money isn't everything." Clara said.

"It can buy you pretty things." Melinda said with a pout.

"Pretty things are just that though. Things. And with you it's always things you don't need." Clara pointed out. Melinda huffed.

"Whatever. When's dinner?"

"We haven't even had lunch yet."

"I'm just asking." Melinda said with a shrug. "Hey, we should throw a party; we have a big enough ball room."

"We don't know anyone here. I doubt any of your friends from the states will want to fly here just for a party."

"If we pay for them they might." Melinda said with a smile. Clara sighed. "Come on, it's almost Halloween; we can throw the most kick ass party ever!"

"Fine." Clara said and Melinda squealed. "But I'm giving you a budget!" Clara added quickly as Melinda whipped out her phone.

 **…**

Within no time Melinda had texted all of her friends about _her_ Halloween party she was going to be hosting at _her_ new home. Clara let her have her fun and worked out the financials for her older sister. The staff of the house worked all week preparing the ball room for the party, Ramsey had hired a caterer and Isabel had helped Clara pick out her costume from the dress room. Melinda was a little harder to please and ended up going into town and buying something herself, spending half her _allowance_ in the process.

When the guest list was finalized Clara made it clear that Melinda was only allowed to pay for twenty people but of course the list went well past 20 so she ending up only paying for half of everyone's ticket. Melinda had offered some of the guest rooms to her friends but Clara made it clear she was to take those offers back immediately and her friends were to say at hotels. Clara didn't want strangers in her grandmother's house. Even if she'd never met the woman she felt it would be disrespectful to allow random people in. That and Clara didn't trust Melinda's 'friends' and she felt Melinda didn't care that it was technically Clara's grandmother's house, now Clara's, and not her own.

* * *

Clara could barely hear herself think in the semi-crowded ballroom. A plethora of ghouls, witches, vampires and more danced and mingled in the low light from the many candelabras and the crystal chandelier that loomed over them. The ballroom was decorated in oranges, purples and black, fake spider webs and jack-o-lanterns. The back wall of the ballroom was completely made of windows and lined with doors leading out to a large balcony looking out over a small lake behind the house; beyond the lake was a dense forest that looked sinister in the moonlight. Clara was wearing a black dress Isabel had picked out for her from the dress room. It reached the floor and the sleeves stopped at the elbows with had navy blue draping sleeves and a bit of black lace at the top.

Melinda was center stage. She was wearing her red Edwardian dinner gown. Her blonde hair was in a curly updo. In her left hand she had a red venetian mask with a silver handle that every once in a while would cover her face. Of course Melinda had chosen the musical selection so the song _Masquerade_ played over the large speakers that had been set up.

Clara moved through the crowd to the back of the ballroom before slipping outside. She let out a sigh of relief; she never really liked crowded places and preferred to be in more open spaces with a few people or even just by herself. She walked to the railing of the balcony and crossed her arms before leaning on the cold metal. When she looked down at the lake and saw the moons reflection, she looked up at it. Clara let out another sigh and closed her eyes as a breeze blew her hair back. She was enjoying the quiet sounds of the night when a deep voice whispered in her head.

" _Sell nîn. Elen nîn_."

Clara's eyes snapped open and she looked out at the forest. She could've sworn the voice had come from there though she'd heard it in her head. When she didn't see anything after staring for a while she backed away from the railing with a frown. Hugging herself loosely she took another step back before heading back inside.

 **…**

It was soon midnight but the party was still fully active. People were dancing and laughing; Melinda could be seen here and there talking to her friends, keeping up appearances. Clara felt like she was suffocating in the room and had retreated to her bedroom. She hadn't taken off her dress but was sitting at her vanity brushing her hair. She'd taken off her make up in the bathroom before. Clara sighed as she put down her brush. She stood but suddenly stopped as she felt a shiver down her spine.

" _Sell nîn. Elen nîn_."

Clara instinctively looked towards the woods. How had she been able to hear that voice again when the door to her balcony had been closed? She felt a pull, a stronger pull than she had felt when she heard the voice before, pulling her towards the woods.

"I should just go to bed." Clara said aloud to herself. She looked down as she took a deep breath and noticed something. With a frown she pulled back the top of her dress to look down at her necklace. The gem had started to pulse with light slowly, in time with Clara's breathing, in time with her heart. She slowly let go of the dress and looked out at the woods again.

…

Clara was never really one to follow gut feelings, especially when they gave her the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach she had about the woods as she neared them. Leaves and twigs crunched beneath her boots, there was no wind and the only other sound she could hear was that of the muffled party in the distance. She used the flashlight on her phone as she entered the forest. The pull was getting stronger and leading her deeper inside. She felt she had been walking forever when she just suddenly stopped. The pull was gone. She pulled out her locket, the gem was still pulsing – a little quicker now as her heart was beating faster – but there was also a tiny bit of light coming from the locket itself. Light leaked through the sides as if something was inside it. She'd never been able to open it; she didn't know why she thought it would suddenly open now. But it did and the light grew until all Clara could see was white then she was plunged into darkness.

* * *

 **So the "Sell nîn Elen nîn" was supposed to be elvish for "My daughter. My star." But I probably got it wrong, hence why I'm telling you what it's supposed to say in case anyone looked it up and it was wrong.**

 **We're in middle-earth next chapter. Let me know what you think ^_^**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, its characters, plot or anything else to do with it. I own my OC Clara. I also own any other OCs(besides Melinda), changes and anything else I added.**

 **Arianna Le Fay: Yep it's a love triangle, you'll have to wait and see ^_^**

 **Weighty Ghost: Of course I'm going to explain the locket. Clara's father had the locket made for her, hence why her name was on it. If it had been her mother's then the name on it would've been Christa. Everything will be explained don't worry.**

 **Notes before you read: Frodo Baggins is 3 ft 6in in height and Clara is 5 ft 6in.**

* * *

Frodo Baggins, book in hand, walked through the forest about half a mile from Hobbiton. He was about to sit down to relax against a tree when he noticed something black on the deep green grass a few yards away. He placed his book down and slowly made his way over. As he got closer he realized it was a woman in a black dress lying in the grass on her side. Her light brown hair was covering her face as it fanned out around her. She was no hobbit; she looked to be two feet taller than him. Frodo's eyes widened and he quickly went over to her.

"Miss?" He asked as he kneeled in front of her. He could see her back slowly rising and falling assuring him she was alive. He slowly reached down and moved her hair from her face slowly, brushing it behind her ear. He took note of the barley noticeable point to them. "Miss?" He asked. The woman didn't stir. "Miss, are you alright?" He gently shook her shoulder. She began to stir and her eyes fluttered open slowly. Green met blue and both of their eyes widened. Clara sat up suddenly with a yelp of surprise. Frodo fell back in surprise at her outburst. Clara crawled back as best she could in her dress, breathing heavily.

"Where-? How-?" She breathed. She looked around with wide eyes before her eyes landed on the hobbit. Frodo blinked from his spot on the ground.

"A-Are you alright?" He asked.

"You-you're…." She pointed at him and struggled to find a word. "S-small." She said bluntly. Frodo blinked again.

"That _is_ to be expected for a hobbit." he said with a slight chuckle. "Are you an Elf?"

"An elf?" Clara's eyes widened.

"You ears have a point to them and you're too tall to be a hobbit." Frodo said.

"My ears have always looked like this." Clara muttered as she covered them.

"I meant no offence by it." Frodo said quickly when he noticed her frown. He stood up and walked up to her with a polite smile. "Are you alright?" He asked with genuine concern. Clara swallowed.

"Where am I?" She asked in a small voice as she lowered her hands.

"The Shire." Frodo said simply.

"The what-?" Clara's eyebrows came together in confusion. "A-And what's a hobbit?"

"The Shire." Frodo said with a small frown. "And _I'm_ a hobbit." He said putting a hand to his chest. "I'm Frodo Baggins." He said with a smile.

"Clara Kingsley- uh I mean Drake… Clara Drake." she said before looking around. She put a hand on her locket only to find it missing. "My locket!" she gasped as she felt around her neck. Clara suddenly stood and Frodo took a few steps back. "Where did it go?" She looked around frantically before looking down at Frodo. "I-I lost my locket, it's heart shaped with a diamond on it, at least I think it's a diamond…" she muttered.

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen it." He said shaking his head.

"It has to be nearby." Clara said before walking around Frodo and looking around at the ground.

"I'll help you look for it." Frodo said as he began to look as well. Clara suddenly stopped. She turned to Frodo.

"You said we were in the Shire, where is that?" She asked. Frodo blinked.

"Uh… here." He said.

"No no I mean... what city are we in."

"We're not in any city, Miss." Frodo said with a frown.

"Can you... Um.." She looked around. "Can you point me to the nearest phone or gas station?" Frodo looked adorably confused.

"A what?" He blinked as he tilted his head to the side.

"Can you get me out of the woods?" Clara asked biting her bottom lip again. "After I find my locket, I mean."

"Of course." Frodo smiled comfortingly before motioning her to follow him. "My uncle Bilbo has maps, I'm sure he could help you."

"Bilbo?" Clara muttered. "Such strange names." Frodo looked back at her, his smile still on his face.

"Clara is a rather strange name." He said. "But it is a pretty one." he added with a smile.

"Thank you, Mr. Baggins." Clara said giving a small, but weak, smile back.

"Just call me Frodo." He told her. Clara nodded. "Now, let's find this locket of yours."

"Thank you."

"You've already thanked me." he told her with a smile.

"I know."

"Ah! Is this it?" Frodo asked as he picked something up. Clara's eyes widened.

"My locket!" she gasped. Frodo smiled as he handed it to her. She quickly put it on and felt a sigh of relief. "I've never taken it off before… the clasp isn't broken so it couldn't have fallen off." She muttered.

"Shall we see my uncle?"

"Oh yes, thank you again." Clara said. Frodo smiled.

…

"They're all staring at me." Clara said quietly to Frodo, hugging herself, as they walked down a dirt road through Hobbiton and past other hobbits.

"Well, Men normally don't come here. For many of them it's a first." Frodo said with a shrug, not admitting that for himself, too, it was a first.

"I'm a woman…" Clara said as she bit her bottom lip.

"Oh, no I didn't mean to call you a man I was saying that the race of Men not men… does that make sense."

"Kind of… you could say human, can't you?"

"Oh well, Hobbits are humans too." Frodo explained.

"My brain is starting to hurt." Clara said with a forced chuckled.

"I'll try explaining again later, just don't mind them. We're almost there." Clara swallowed.

"Thank gods. I stick out like a sore thumb." Frodo chuckled slightly and gave Clara a reassuring look when he noticed her frown. She gave him a small grateful smile back. The two walked through the Hobbiton till they reached Bag End. Frodo opened the door and Clara slowly ducked down and followed him inside. Frodo told Clara to wait there then called for his cousin and walked down a hallway.

"Here, here!" Clara heard an older, yet equally short, man shout before said man turned the corner from the kitchen. He noticed Clara and blinked. Her face flushed as she stood there awkwardly. Frodo came back and walked up to the man.

"Bilbo, this is Clara Drake. I found her unconscious out in the woods." Frodo explained.

"Oh dear." Bilbo frowned and walked over to Clara. "Well come in, come in, dear girl." He said motioning for her to come through the study into the kitchen. Clara hesitantly walked over, she didn't have to duck too much, and entered the kitchen. "Sit sit. Don't worry the chairs are sturdy." Bilbo said motioning to the dining table. Clara slowly sat in a chair and swallowed. "Would you like some tea, cheese?" He asked. Clara shook her head.

"N-no thank you."

"You act as though you've never seen a hobbit."

"I-I haven't."

"Nor heard of them?" Bilbo asked. Clara shook her head looking between the two Baggins'. Frodo had sat down at the table across from her while Bilbo remained standing. "Hmm…" Bilbo hummed in thought.

"To be perfectly honest I don't even know where I am or what happened." Clara said quietly.

"Why don't you start from the beginning? That's always a good place to start." Bilbo said with a smile.

"My sister was throwing a party at our new place and… I could've sworn I heard something from outside in the woods…"

"Do you remember what is was?"

"It was a voice… it wasn't speaking English though."

"English?" Frodo asked.

"Yeah… what we're speaking right now." Clara said when the two looked at her curiously.

"Oh, the common tongue."

"That's what you call it?" Clara asked. The two nodded. "There can't be that many languages then…"

"Oh there are quite a few." Bilbo said.

"How many are there where you're from?" Frodo asked.

"Uh I think there's like… over 6,000." Clara said with a shrug. Bilbo and Frodo's eyes widened. "I can only speak three of them."

"Uh, do you remember what you heard the voice saying?" Bilbo asked after composing himself.

"Um… sell… sell something… it said nin twice."

"Elvish." Bilbo said recognizing the word.

"It said something about an Ellen too."

"Elen?"

"Yeah."

"Do you know what it means?" Frodo asked his cousin.

"I'm afraid I do not." Bilbo said as he shook his head. "What happened after that?"

"My locket started glowing." Clara took out her locket and Bilbo leaned forward to look at it. "Then I felt this pull into the woods so I went in… and that's all I remember. The next thing I know I'm being woken by Frodo." Clara said. Bilbo frowned in thought.

"Hmm... Very strange. Where did you say you were before these events happened?"

"At the estate my grandmother left for me in Holmes Chapel."

"Where?"

"Holmes Chapel." She received confused looked from both hobbits.

"England." She said. The poor hobbits looked even more lost. "Europe. _Planet Earth_."

"You mean Middle Earth?" Frodo asked.

"Middle?" Clara shook her head. "No just- just Earth." The hobbits looked at one another. Bilbo looked to have an idea as he held up a finger before he walked into the study. There was some shuffling and soon he came back with a map. He placed it on the table in front of Clara.

"Where is this estate located?" He asked. Clara looked at the map utterly bewildered.

"What is this map of?" She asked with a frown.

"Middle Earth." Bilbo said as if it were obvious. Frodo reached over and pointed at a section of the map.

"This is where we are now, the Shire," He moved his finger over an inch. "more specifically Hobbiton."

"I don't recognize _anything_ on this map." Clara said shaking her head. "This... This can't be right." She put a hand over her mouth. "This has got to be some weird… and extremely vivid dream." Clara said as she began to nod slowly. "That's it; I'm simply dreaming." She let out a breathy laugh. "I can wake up whenever I want." She closed her eyes and willed herself to wake up. A moment later she opened them to see the two hobbits blink at her.

"I'm afraid you're quite awake, dear." Bilbo said.

"But.. how? I must have fell and hit my head or something otherwise." The two looked at her sympathetically. "Right? …What am I going to do?" Clara said burying her face in her hands. "I don't know where I am, I've no where to stay, I'm lost..."

"Why don't you stay here?" Frodo suggested.

" _Where_? This place is so small." Clara said, her voice slightly muffled by her hands. She lifted her head and brushed a hand through her hair, letting out a shaky breath.

"You're only a couple feet taller, you can fit in the spare room." Frodo said.

"I once had _thirteen_ dwarves in this _small_ house." Bilbo said with a chuckle.

"Dwarves?" Clara said blinking.

"Oh my.." Bilbo said noting her confused expression on her face and the disbelieving tone in her voice. "What, my dear, _do_ you know about Middle Earth?"

"Absolutely nothing but the fact that there are people half my size and apparently dwarves exist." Clara said.

"Well, we are called hobbits, halflings." Bilbo clarified. "And along with dwarves there are elves, orcs, goblins-"

"Wait wait- I'm sorry to interrupt but _orcs_? _Goblins_?" Clara asked.

"And elves." Frodo added with a nod. "Do you not have any where you're from?" Clara shook her head.

"We only have… well humans." Clara said. "But not hobbits, we have really short humans but they're just shorter not smaller." Frodo looked shocked but a bit amazed. He wanted to know more about the foreign place that Clara had come from.

"Frodo, why don't you prepare the guest bedroom while Clara and I talk?" Bilbo suggested. Frodo frowned but nodded before he left the room. Bilbo looked at Clara. "I'm sure you're frightened; you're far from home in a place completely unfamiliar to you." Clara nodded. Bilbo took a kettle from its place hanging over a fire and poured the water into a smaller tea pot. He put the kettle back and pushed a small plate with bread and cheese on it towards Clara. "I want you to know you're welcome here; stay as long as you wish." He said before he poured her a cup of tea.

"Thank you for being so kind to me even though I'm a complete stranger." Clara said.

"It's nice to see a new pretty face." Bilbo said with a smile which made Clara smile back. She brushed her hair behind her ear and Bilbo tilted his head. "Your ears… are you certain you're of the race of Men?"

"What? Oh-" Clara reached up to touch her ear. "Yeah, my ears have always had this little point to them."

"Does your sister have them as well?" Bilbo asked.

"Well, she's not my real sister; her parents adopted me when I was a baby." Clara explained.

"Oh." Bilbo nodded with a thoughtful frown.

* * *

 **Well we're finally in middle earth… how am I doing? I have the first movie for the story story pretty much done which never happens. I normally write as I post but now I just have to edit and revise as I post.**

 **Before anyone says anything humans can have points to their ears too, not as much as a Hobbit or an Elf but they can have a point. People in real life have some points to their ears, Clara's ears didn't change when she got to middle earth, they've always been like that. (Maybe I should've mentioned it earlier but I forgot to.)**

 **This was kinda short but I didn't update too long ago.**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Lord of the Rings, its characters, plot or anything else to do with it. I own my OC Clara. I also own any other OCs, changes and anything else I added.**

 **Before you correct me Bilbo and Frodo** ** _are_** **cousins but they refer to each other as Uncle/Nephew because of the large age gap.**

 **Weighty Ghost:** **That** ** _was_** **the end of the conversation. There's nothing really semi dramatically I could do to end a chapter at that point. But yeah I could've ended it better. Sorry.**

 **I was supposed to post this on my Birthday… in April… last year whoops. Sorry this took so long.**

* * *

"I really don't want to be a bother to you two or anyone else here." Clara said with a slight frown as she sat at the kitchen table of Bag End with Bilbo and Frodo the morning after her sudden arrival.

"Nonsense." Bilbo said as he poured tea. "It's a nice change and I'm sure Frodo would love to hear about where you're from." Frodo started smiling.

"After breakfast I was going to head out to the woods… around where I found you." He said. "If you'd like you could come with me."

"I would love that, Frodo." Clara said with a smile. He smiled back.

…

After eating breakfast the two left Bag End. As they headed down towards the gate Samwise Gamgee approached it.

"Good morning, Mr. Frodo." The two looked over to see him. Sam didn't see Clara at first but when he did he looked rather alarmed.

"Good morning, Sam." Frodo said with a wave and a smile. Sam looked at Clara in confusion then at Frodo. "Ah, Sam, this is Clara Drake."

"Hello." Clara said with a small wave and a nervous smile.

"Clara this is Sam." Frodo said.

"Samwise Gamgee. Nice to meet you, Miss Clara." Sam said with a polite smile and a nod. He shifted on his feet slightly.

"She's staying with me and Bilbo." Frodo explained. Sam nodded, even though he still looked a bit confused.

"I best be getting to tending the garden. I'll see you later, Mr. Frodo." Sam said. Frodo nodded and he and Clara continued walking.

"I'm pretty sure that's the first time Sam has seen a Woman." Frodo said with an amused smile. "Well a…"

" _Me_ sized woman?" Clara asked. Frodo chuckled with a nod.

…

The two walked through the forest before finding a good spot to sit down against a tree. Clara let out a sigh. Frodo frowned as he looked over at her as she frowned.

"Tell me about where you're from." He said.

"I'm not sure what to tell." Clara said after a moment. "Your world is much more interesting and I've only been here a short while."

"Tell me anything." Frodo said with a smile.

"Well…" Clara said. She thought for a moment. "We have buildings that go so high we named them skyscrapers." Frodo sat in front of Clara, with his legs crossed, and gave her his full attention. "We have cars, uh… carriages without horses that run on fuel." Frodo's eyes widened and a smile was slowly forming on his face as he heard about these foreign things. "No one uses candles much anymore, we use electricity." Frodo looked confused but nodded. "We have planes, we use them to fly around and get around faster." Frodo looked amazed.

"What is the name of your home?" He asked.

"Well about a month ago my sister and I lived in Connecticut, a state in America. We moved to England to live in the castle of an estate my grandmother - whom I'd never even met - left to me. I never even knew the woman existed and she put me in her will…"

"A castle?" Frodo asked with wide eyes.

"She was very rich." Clara said with a nod.

"Are you the princess of this 'England'?"

"Oh no, we're not royalty at all." She let out a small chuckle as she shook her head. "Though my sister likes to think she is." The smile faded from Clara's face.

"I'm sure you'll see her again." Frodo said with a kind smile. Clara managed to give him a small smile in return.

"Thank you, Frodo." She said before she leaned her head back against the tree.

"Tell me more about your world?" Frodo requested. Clara smiled.

* * *

Frodo and Clara walked back to Bag End, past hobbits who were working in the fields. They heard a commotion behind them and turned to see Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took running towards them, each holding a sack.

"Hello Frodo!" Pippin said with a big smile as the two stopped next to them. "Hello..um…" He looked up at Clara and blinked with wide innocent eyes. Frodo smiled.

"Clara Drake meet-" He started to say but was cut off.

"Merry Brandybuck." Merry said with a friendly grin. "and Pippin Took." He nodded to the other hobbit who was still looking up at her with wide eyes, his mouth had fallen open as well. They looked back to the way they came as they heard someone shouting. "Nice meeting you, Miss, but we've got to go!" Merry said with a grin. "Come on, Pip!" he said before he and his cousin ran off.

"I can tell they get into a lot of mischief." Clara said with a small giggle. Frodo chuckled with a nod.

"More than you can imagine." Frodo said. "The two are cousins and through his father, Pippin is _my_ second-cousin once-removed, and the first-cousin twice-removed of Bilbo." He said with a smile. Clara nodded.

"Wait… so… you and Bilbo are cousins? I thought he was your uncle."

"Oh, yeah, I just see him more as an uncle because of the age gap." Frodo said with a shrug. "I just got used to calling him uncle, too."

"Ah, okay. Makes sense."

…

"I don't suppose you two have any… bigger clothing I could borrow, do you?" Clara asked Bilbo who was sitting in the study of Bag End.

"Never really expected many Men for company I'm afraid." Bilbo said with an apologetic frown.

"Well… you don't happen to have some cloth or fabric, do you? I could make myself something."

"I might have something." Bilbo said with a nod as he stood, holding up a finger before he went into another room. He came back with a large white sheet and a brown one. "Could you make something out of these, my dear?"

"They'll do perfectly." Clara said with a nod and a smile.

"Marvelous." Bilbo said with a smile of his own. "I'll get you a needle and some thread." He said after handing her the sheet.

"Thank you." Clara looked down at the cloth as Bilbo left the room. "This might take a while…"

…

Clara worked on her new articles of clothing for the rest of the day and well into the night before finishing it and falling asleep as the sun rose. Bilbo knocked on her door to wake her the next morning. When she didn't respond he cracked the door open. He smiled seeing her asleep with her new clothes folded up like a pillow.

Once Clara had finally woken up she took a quick sponge bath – she couldn't fit in the small tub the hobbits used and there was no way she was bathing in a body of water outside. She changed into her newly made outfit. She'd used the white sheet to make a blouse with baggy sleeves that went halfway down her upper arms. With the brown one she made a skirt that went down mid-calf, showing her black boots. With the leftover material from brown cloth she made a vest like top to go over the white blouse and used green ribbon, that Bilbo had found later, to lace and tie it in the front. It wasn't her best work since she didn't have a sewing machine but they weren't too poorly made that she couldn't wear them. She folded her black gown and held it under her arm before leaving the guest bedroom.

"Finally awake are we?" Bilbo asked with a laugh.

"Good morning. It is still morning, right?" Clara asked. Frodo chuckled.

"It's almost midday. We thought it best to let you sleep." he said. Clara smiled in thanks and he smiled back.

"Finished your new outfit I see." Bilbo said. Clara nodded. "It looks lovely." He said making her beam.

"Thank you, Bilbo. Is there somewhere for me to wash my dress?" She asked. He motioned for her to hand it to him.

"I'll have it washed for you."

"I couldn't ask you to do that for me." Clara said shaking her head.

"Then don't." He said with a smile. "You're our guest." He said taking the folded dress. "Now sit and eat something." He said motioning to the table. "It's almost time for elevenses." Clara smiled as she sat down.

"Elevenses?" Clara asked as Bilbo left the room.

"Uh, hobbits eat six meals a day." Frodo explained. "Breakfast, second breakfast, elevenses, luncheon, afternoon tea, dinner and supper."

"That was seven."

"Well afternoon tea is just in the middle." Frodo said with a chuckle.

"I normally only have three meals a day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper." Clara said. "Some people skip one or two sometimes." Frodo blinked.

"They skip one or two out of _three_?"

"Yeah, it's not healthy but people either don't have time or they want to lose weight."

"Did you skip them?"

"Back in Connecticut I used to work at a Starbucks in the mornings and a diner at night so I would grab a quick bite to eat for breakfast and I would sometimes have to skip lunch if I was busy during the day."

"Star…bucks?" Frodo asked. "What's that?" Clara looked at him and saw his curiosity sparkle in his eyes making her smile.

"It's a coffee place. Um, a drink that-" Clara stopped and Frodo chuckled.

"We have coffee here." He told her.

"Oh…" Clara said quietly before biting her lip. Frodo smiled.

"What other drinks are there in your world?"

"Well we have beer." Frodo nodded. "Wines and other alcoholic drinks. There's soda which has sugar and caffeine and comes in a lot of flavors like fruits. Then there are normal fruit drinks, apple juice, apple cider, grape juice, etc." Frodo nodded. Bilbo came back into the kitchen and clapped his hands together.

"Alright, who's hungry?" He asked with a smile. He began to get the food ready. "Oh, Clara." Bilbo said turning to look at her. "At the end of the next week it'll be my 111th birthday." Clara's eyes widened. "There'll be a party, and I'd love it if you'd come."

"You've known me less than three days." Clara said confused.

"And in that time I've learned you're a lovely young woman." Bilbo said. "I want you to come." He said with a smile. Clara smiled back.

"Well, okay. Thank you." Bilbo nodded and went back to getting the food. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, how long do hobbits normally live?"

"Well, the normal life expectancy is around 100 years." Clara couldn't hide her expression of shock.

"Well, I have to say Bilbo, you look good for 111." she said with a smile. Bilbo chuckled.

"Thank you my dear." Bilbo put some plates of food on the table. "It will also be Frodo's birthday." he said. Frodo smiled shyly.

"How old are you going to be?" Clara asked him with a smile.

"He's going to be coming of age." Bilbo said with a fond smile.

"18?" Clara asked raising her eyebrows.

"No no." Bilbo said with a laugh. "33." Clara blinked.

"You're 32?" Clara asked Frodo. He nodded. "I-I thought you were younger than me." Clara said with a frown.

"Why, how old are you?" he asked as he tilted his head slightly.

" _Frodo_." Bilbo scolded. "You don't ask a lady her age."

"Sorry." Frodo said quickly with a sheepish smile.

"No it's alright." Clara said with a smile. "I'm 23." Frodo nodded.

"You will come to the party, yes?" Bilbo asked.

"It's not like I have other plans." Clara said with a giggle. "Of course I'll come. You've both been so kind to me, a complete stranger."

"Well you're not a stranger now, now are you?" Bilbo asked with a smile. Clara felt a warm feeling in her chest as she returned the smile.

* * *

"Ah, Clara." Bilbo said as he came into the kitchen to find her and Frodo having breakfast. The two looked over as he walked up to her. "Here." He handed her a small leather pouch that jingled as it landed in her hand.

"What's this?" she asked before looking into the pouch and seeing it was filled with gold coins.

"Just a little something for you to get some more fabric."

"A _little_ something? How much is in here? I can't take this." Clara said holding pouch back to him.

"Of course you can!" Bilbo insisted as he pushed her hand back. "You can't just wear the same two dresses. Frodo will take you to market when you've finished eating, won't you?" Bilbo put a hand on Frodo's shoulder and the younger hobbit nodded.

"I'd be happy to. Besides you'll need a dress for the party." He said.

"Thank you." Clara said with a smile as she looked between the two.

…

The next day Clara sat outside as she sewed a new dress. Frodo sat beside her with a book and his pipe.

"Good Morning Mister Frodo." Sam called as he walked up. "Good Morning Miss Clara." He added.

"Good Morning Sam." Frodo said with a grin.

"Good Morning, Sam." Clara said with a smile as she looked up from her work.

 **(I was supposed to write more here but lost ideas)**

* * *

Frodo, eating an apple, walked out of Bag End and picked up the mail from the mailbox. He came back inside and gave the mail to Bilbo who was in his study. The older hobbit was laughing as he wrote in his book but quickly quieted down as Frodo approached him.

"Thank you." Bilbo said. Frodo picked up a sketch of a young Bilbo.

"What's this?" He asked. Bilbo grabbed back the picture.

"That is private. Keep your sticky paws off." Frodo looked at the book and Bilbo closed it. "It's not ready yet." Bilbo said putting his book away.

"Not ready for what?" Frodo asked as he walked away into the hall to see Bilbo's open trunk.

"Reading." Frodo picked up and examined some old object of Bilbo's. Bilbo examined the pile of letters. "What on earth are these?" He asked.

"Replies to the party invitations." Frodo said.

"Oh! Good gracious! Is it today?" Bilbo asked with a grin.

"They all said they're coming. Except for the Sackville-Bagginses; they're demanding you ask them in person." Frodo said.

"Well they don't seem like a friendly lot." Clara said as she ducked slightly to enter the room.

"Are they, indeed? Over my dead body." Bilbo said.

"They'd probably find that quite agreeable!"

"They seem to think you have tunnels overflowing with gold." Frodo said to Bilbo.

"It was one small chest, hardly overflowing. And it still smells of troll." Bilbo started to hide his valuables in chests, jars, vases, and other inconspicuous places around the house.

"What on earth are you doing?" Frodo asked.

"Taking precautions. You know, I caught her making off with the silverware once."

"Who?"

"Lobelia Sackville-Baggins." Bilbo said going into the dining room. Frodo and Clara followed. "She had all my spoons stuffed in her pockets. Hah! Dreadful woman; make sure you keep an eye on her after I'm ... when I'm ... when I'm..." Bilbo trailed off. Frodo and Clara frowned.

"When you're...what?" Frodo asked.

"It's nothing. Nothing."Bilbo looked at some papers on the table in the next room.

"You know, some people are beginning to wonder about you, Uncle. They think you're becoming odd."

"Odd? Hmm."

"Unsociable."

"Unsociable? Me? Nonsense. Be a good lad and put that on the gate." Bilbo handed Frodo a sign he'd made; Frodo looked at it dubiously.

"No, I don't see why they'd think you unsociable." Clara said after glancing at the sign. Frodo gave her a playful smirk which she returned.

…

Frodo went outside and nailed the sign to the gate of Bag End. It said "NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS." Bilbo came outside and stretched.

"You think he'll come?" Frodo asked.

"Who?" Bilbo asked.

"Gandalf."

"Ahhh. He wouldn't miss a chance to lit up his whiz-poppers! He'll give us quite a show, you'll see."

"Alright then, I'm off." Frodo said.

"Off to where?" Bilbo asked.

"East Farthing woods. I'm going to surprise him."

"Is Clara going with you?"

"She's supposed to be." Frodo said with a smile. A moment later, Clara came out of Bag End. She smiled sheepishly.

"Well, go on then! You don't want to be late." Bilbo said ushering Clara to follow Frodo who started to run off.

"Frodo, wait for me!" Clara called after him.

"Come on, Clara!" Frodo called back with a laugh.

"Frodo!" Clara whined. Bilbo chuckled as he heard her complain that she should be able to catch up to him. Bilbo sat on a bench outside his door, smoking his pipe; he blew out a large smoke ring which floated into the sky.

* * *

 **Anyone actually like this story so far?**


End file.
